Tales of the JLI: Easy Like Sunday Morning
by blubeetle3
Summary: This story has been Lucasfied! Or polished up. However you want to put it. Author's notes have been added. Power Girl is having a BAD day! Is Blue Beetle her knight in shining spandex?
1. Chapter 1

**_Untold Tales of the JLI: "Easy Like Sunday Morning" Chapter One_**

**__**

Power Girl was upset. _VERY_ upset!

She _HAD_ plans for this Sunday morning. She _WAS GOING_ to spend some time alone and just unwind. She _WAS GOING_ to do nothing in particular, and enjoy herself doing it! But, as it turned out, her plans went **POOF!** - along with the main security board at the JLI's Paris Embassy.

Power Girl was considered the "computer expert" of the European branch of the Justice League International, mainly because she owned a software company under her secret identity, Karen Starr. So, she was the one that was called into the embassy this Sunday morning by the administrator there, Catherine Colbert.

It wasn't bad enough that she was called in on a Sunday morning, but, it turned out she was going to be the only one there. With the main security board out, the monitoring station was down. With no monitoring station, there was no way to be alerted of emergencies. All calls were being redirected to the JLI embassy in New York. If there were a problem, the New York embassy would alert the members of the European branch via personal communicators.

Catherine informed her when she arrived that the League still wanted a hero at the embassy in case of "walk-ins". So, not only was Power Girl here to look at the security board, she was "on call" until the situation was normalized. AND THEN Catherine had the gall to disappear almost the second Power Girl had gotten there.

_"I guess she had plans!"_ thought Power Girl, a little bitterly.

After spending less than a half an hour trying to figure out just exactly what she was looking at (and getting frustrated beyond belief), Power Girl conceeded that she was in over her head. Software was her specialty, NOT hardware! And especially not the kind of hardware she was looking at. She was proficient enough to install a hard drive or even a mother board into a computer, but, the main security board was not a PC!

_This was incrediblly stupid! Who the Hell had installed these damned things in the first place? Why wasn't there any type of emergency manuals around here in case of such emergency? This was turning into one huge cluster-futst!_

Power Girl finally called the JLI embassy in New York when her boiling point hit its highest. Of course, she had to do this by personal communicator because the communications systems were part of the monitoring station, and the monitoring station was down because the main security board was down. Power Girl was really beginning to _HATE_ the main security board!

As soon as someone answered the communicator at the New York embassy, Power Girl, leaving pleasantries aside, yelled "HELP!".

Luckily for her, J'Onn J'Onnz, the Martian Manhunter; sole survivor of the Martian race; leader of the American branch of the JLI; and infinitely patient being, answered her signal. "How may I be of assistance, Power Girl?" he asked in his deep baritone voice. Power Girl noted what might have been slight bemusement therein.

"I'll tell you how you can be of assistance," said an agitated Power Girl. "Send SOMEONE who knows how to fix this damned security board!"

"I am aware of the problem." explained J'Onn patiently. "Catherine told me she had a computer expert in-house. Am I to assume that would be you?"

"SOFTWARE!" shouted an exasperated Power Girl in response. (On the other end of the line J'Onn held the communicator away from himself to save the damage to his ears.) "Software! I don't know anything about hardware! Even less about whatever technological nightmare passes for that damned security board! And I have no idea how I'm suppose to fix something I don't understand!"

J'Onn sighed. "Very well." he said. "I'll send someone there when I can."

"**No-no-no**!" said Power Girl quickly. She had images of being stuck in the embassy all day before some repairman decided to show up God-only-knows how many hours later. "You send someone A.S.A.P.!"

"You do realize that it's only five in the morning here?" asked J'Onn, trying hard to keep the patience in his voice.

"I DON'T CARE!" stated Power Girl emphatically. "Send someone! I don't care if you have to personally drag them out of bed! SEND SOMEONE! Someone who knows what they're doing!"

"Is half an hour too unreasonable for you?" asked J'Onn, who was starting to reach the limits of his patience with Power Girl's attitude.

"It'll do!" Power Girl said as she clicked off the communicator.

Power Girl sighed as she looked down at the communicator in her hand. _"Calm down!"_ she told herself. It was outbursts like that that gave her such a sterling reputation! Was it any wonder people flinched away when she walked into a room?

What followed might have been the longest thirty minutes of Power Girl's life. Patience was not one of Power Girl's virtues. In fact, she hated waiting more than just about anything. The longer the wait, the worse it was! She had practically walked a bare spot in the carpet from pacing back and forth. When she heard the whine of the teleporter, she turned in a combination of relief and annoyance. Relief that someone had finally showed up. And annoyance because she thought the teleporters would have been down along with the security board.

The light around the figure in the teleporter diminished, and he came into form.

"Oh, COME ON!" said Power Girl, clearly annoyed. "J'Onn was suppose to send someone to help me! Not comic relief!"

"And that's why I'm here!" said Blue Beetle as he stepped out of the teleporter tube. He was carrying several boxes and what looked to be a tool kit. He set the boxes down and yawned loudly as he stretched.

"YOU?" asked Power Girl disbelievingly. "You're "the expert" J'Onn was sending?"

Beetle sat down in one of the chairs and yawned again. He looked up at Power Girl with sleepy eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Here I come to save the day..." he started singing.

"You have got to be kidding me!" said Power Girl as she started massaging her temples in a futile effort to ward off a headache.

_"Perfect!"_ thought Power Girl, as she tried to avoid an oncoming headache. _"I need some REAL help here and J'Onn sends Blue Beetle. BLUE **fricking** BEETLE! Is this some kind of weird Martian practical joke J'Onn is trying to pull on me?"_ Power Girl was so lost in thought, she didn't hear the first time Beetle had asked a question.

Beetle repeated the question. "What happened to the security board?" He was still slumped in the chair, his eyes closed.

"I don't know." replied Power Girl honestly. "I wasn't here when it went bad. Apparently, it just went 'poof' and..."

"Took out the monitoring station with it." Beetle completed Power Girl's statement.

"Yeah." Power Girl said as she eyed Beetle. "Do you know what's wrong with it?"

"No." said Beetle, as he opened his eyes. "It could be any number of things... But, I have some ideas!"

Power Girl looked at Beetle suspiciously. She was considering the fact that _MAYBE_, just maybe, Beetle did know something about the hardware here. Or maybe he was going to screw it up worse than it was before! She had heard some of the stories about Beetle from Captain Atom and Elongated Man. In any case, she was going to keep an eye on him.

Beetle got up slowly out his chair, leaned over, and picked up his boxes with a moan. "Let's get this show on the road!"

As Power Girl and Blue Beetle walked down the hallway to the monitor room, Beetle couldn't help himself. "So, how's the diet going, Peegee?" he asked with a smirk. It was an ongoing thing between them. When Beetle had really let himself go wild on Twinkies and lack of training, he had ballooned up to over thirty pounds past his fighting weight. His doctor, knowing Beetle's juvenile mindset, suggested finding a "diet buddy" and turn weight-loss into a competition. It was even the doctor's suggestion that the diet buddy be female, as men have higher metabolisms than women. The perfect candidate was Power Girl, who was forever drinking diet sodas and was as competitive as they came.

Power Girl shot him a quick dirty look. "Fine." she said evenly.

Beetle caught the dirty look out of the corner of his eye and smiled more broadly. He was going to enjoy needling her. "Good to hear!" he said. "I dropped another three pounds this week. You?"

Power Girl was sorely tempted to punch Beetle for asking. Instead, she ignored it as they reached the monitor room. "It's right over..." she started. But, Beetle had walked right over to where the main security board was.

As Power Girl watched, Beetle popped open an access panel. He took a small Mag-lite flashlight out of his tool kit and started shining it into the machinery. He peered into the opening and looked around, his eyes squinted to look for the problem. Beetle smiled at Power Girl and reached into the opening. With a slight yank, he pulled out a component and showed it to Power Girl.

"There's the start of your problem right there!" said Beetle.

"That's a cooling fan." said Power Girl, clearly unimpressed. Even as limited as her knowledge of the hardware end of computers was, she was still able to distinguish most of the parts in a computer.

Beetle was taken slightly aback. "Yeah. It seized up. Without the cooling fan, the system overheated and blew out a few relays. I'll have to check the main control board to make sure it wasn't damaged." Beetle looked down at the cooling fan and checked its markings. "Lexcorp." he said outloud. **"JUNK!"** With that proclomation, he threw the component over his shoulder.

It was Power Girl's turn to be taken aback. Beetle clearly knew what he was talking about. Or, at the very least, knew enough to b.s. his way into SOUNDING like he knew what he was talking about. "So, what do you need to do to fix it?"

That question wiped most of the smile off of Beetle's face. "I'm going to need to pull the entire system apart to see what was damaged and what wasn't."

Power Girl visibly winced. "Damn! There goes my whole day! I had plans, too."

"Yeah." said Beetle sympathetically, as he pulled a socket wrench from his tool kit. "I know where you're coming from. Nothing like a Martian waking you up at five in the morning to start your day! Do you know he came into my quarters and personally dragged me outta bed?" Beetle asked. Power Girl looked away a little sheepishly.

"AND I was going to see the Cubs play the Mets this afternoon." continued Beetle. "Had seats right off of third base, too. I can forget about that now. There's no way I can pull this apart and put it back together again in a few hours." A thought occurred to Beetle. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" asked Power Girl cautiously, not liking the look on Beetle's face.

"Unless you want to give me hand." said Beetle. He gave Power Girl the big doe eyes and wane smile.

"Uh-uh." said Power Girl, shaking her head. "I don't know a thing about this hardware!"

"C'mon!" replied Beetle. "That's not true. You were able to recognize the cooling fan. And I'm sure you know several parts of a PC. That's all this is. A glorified PC!"

Power Girl was hesitant. She didn't want to screw it up. AND she especially didn't want to screw it up in front of Beetle, whom she decided DID know what he was doing. She could just picture Beetle cracking jokes about her to his friend Booster Gold.

Beetle wasn't about to give up. "Think of it as a learning opportunity! If this ever happens again, you'll not only be prepare, but, you can amaze and dazzle your friends!" He smiled at her. "It's not everyday that someone can learn at the foot of a true master!"

Power Girl just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Plus," said Beetle. "The faster we get this done, the sooner we can get back to our respective plans."

Power Girl considered this. Beetle was right. If they could get this straightened out fast enough, she could still salvage the afternoon. "Okay." she said, no enthusiasm whatsoever in her voice.

"That's the spirit!" Beetle said brightly as he handed Power Girl a phillips head screwdriver. "You can be the the _'Robin'_ to my _'Batman'_! I always wanted a sidekick! You can start by taking the panel off the back."

"I'm no one's sidekick, buster!" Power Girl said while brandishing the screwdriver ominously.

"Aw, c'mon!" said Beetle, as he went back to work pulling the machine apart. "If you be my sidekick today, I'll be your sidekick next week! Just don't dress me up in short pants. I have hairy kneecaps!"

Power Girl bit her lip to keep from laughing at that. She went to take the panel off in the back, the picture of Beetle in shorts still fresh in her mind.

Surprisingly quickly, Power Girl and Beetle managed to strip the machine down to its skeleton. Beetle was using a tester to check the relays, and Power Girl was going through the boxes Beetle had brought with him.

"You sure do have a lot of KORD stuff here." she said as she inspected the boxes. It was true, most of the stuff Beetle brought had **K.O.R.D. Inc.** stamped all over it. Boxes and boxes of computer components.

"Can't beat quality!" said Beetle as he tested another relay.

"Yeah," said Power Girl. "They had the best stuff back when Ted Kord still owned it! But, not after ZYCO took over!"

Unseen by Power Girl, Beetle raised his eyebrows and smiled a little proudly. "If you check the boxes," he said. "You'll see all that stuff is pre-ZYCO! I convinced Max to buy out their stock of computer parts when ZYCO liquidated all the old KORD stuff. The JLI owns a warehouse full of K.O.R.D. Inc. computer parts!"

"And Max actually agreed to spend all that money?" asked Power Girl skeptically, knowing full well that Maxwell Lord IV, executive administrator of the Justice League International, was as tight with money as was humanly (some would say _**super-humanly**_) possible.

"Well," said Beetle with a smile. "He kinda HAD to! Number one, it WAS liquidation prices, and Max can't pass up a bargain." Power Girl nodded knowingly. "And number two, almost all the computers the League uses are KORD or contain a lot of KORD elements."

"Really?" asked a surprised Power Girl. "I would have thought they'd be a more mainstream brand like IBM or Waynetech or Compaq."

"Nope." said Beetle as he finished testing the relays. "The League's been using KORD technology since the beginning. And I don't mean the beginning of the JLI. I mean the beginning of the Justice League of AMERICA. Kord built their first security system."

Beetle smiled at the memory of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, NOT Guy Gardner), Flash (Barry Allen, NOT Wally West), Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary (and her magical, wonderful **fishnet stockings**!) coming to a still-teenaged Ted Kord to ask HIM to build their first security device. That was one of the proudest days in Ted Kord's life. _"That's what I want to be when I grow up!"_ Young Ted Kord had said as the superheroes flew away. Life is full of little surprises!

Power Girl was impressed. "I didn't know that." she said.

"Well," said Beetle, getting his mind back on the task at hand. "We're lucky! Only one of the relays is fried!"

"I met him once, you know." said Power Girl.

"Who?" asked Beetle, confused. He wasn't following her.

"Ted Kord." responded Power Girl.

Beetle was stunned. He didn't remember meeting Power Girl until after she joined the League. And he was SURE he'd remember some like Power Girl! "When?" he asked, just keeping the concern out of his voice in order to sound conversational.

"Oh, it was some technological tradeshow in Chicago about three years ago." said Power Girl, letting her mind travel back in time. "He was the keynote speaker."

Beetle was racking his brain. He remembered the tradeshow. The only reason he agreed to give the keynote address was because the show was in his hometown. But, for the life of him, he couldn't place Power Girl! And that was driving him nuts!

"Absolutely brilliant man!" continued Power Girl, a little smile playing accross her face. "He made describing his new computer line exciting and fun! He was funny and charming. Not your typical nerdy geek!" She was lost in her memory for a second. "He was kinda cute, too."

"Really?" asked Beetle, eyebrows fully lifted.

"He had an attractive redhead with him." continued Power Girl. "I thought she was just arm-candy, but, I found out later that she actually worked for Kord as a research scientist."

Beetle realized immediately that Power Girl was describing his ex, Melody Case. Damned! Power Girl was describing the whole scene to a tee, and Beetle still couldn't picture where he would have met Power Girl!

Power Girl shook her head. "Man, was she the JEALOUS type! I was trying to discuss some software problems I was having at the time, and she just pulled him away as fast as she could!"

_"Okay."_ thought Beetle. _"THAT I remember! I was talking to a really attractive blonde from the West Coast and..." Beetle's eyes bugged. "NO! That was Power Girl? THAT WAS POWER GIRL! It's amazing at what a change of clothes can do for a person. What was the company's name? It sounded like Hollywood lingerie...Star-something...STARRWARE! Yeah. Yeah. THAT was it! StarrWare! Starr was her last name! What was her first name again? Katey Starr?...Kathy Starr?...Kerry Starr?..."_

**"KAREN STARR!"** Beetle said outloud and immediately covered his mouth.

TOO LATE!

Power Girl spun around quickly. She was stunned. "How do you know my real name!" she asked.

Power Girl had been blissfully busy reliving some past memories as she went through some of the equipment Blue Beetle had brought with him. Suddenly, without any warning, Beetle blurted out her name. Her REAL name! Power Girl took great pains to protect her secret identity. It was her refuge from the maddening world of super-heroics and all the problems that ensued from it. And the fact that Blue Beetle, who SHOULDN'T know her secret identity, DID know, shocked Power Girl!

"I said," Power Girl approached Beetle menacingly. "HOW - DO - YOU - KNOW - MY - REAL - NAME?"

_"Uh-oh!"_ thought Beetle as he slowly started inching back. _"I'm in it deep now!"_

Beetle smiled nervously and licked his suddenly dry lips. "Lucky guess?"

Power Girl moved lightening quick and grabbed Beetle by the throat. She wasn't in the mood to play games. "'Lucky guess?'" she hissed. "Like 'six-billion-to-one' kind of lucky? I DON'T THINK SO!"

Power Girl had a secure grip around Beetle's throat. Not enough to choke him, but, definitely enough to hurt. And enough to scare Beetle! Power Girl was almost "Superman level" strength, and one little twitch from her, and it was "see ya later, sucker" time for him!

"You've got three seconds to give me a straight answer." said Power Girl. "And, so help me God, if you try jerking me around, I'll make you regret it!" Beetle had no doubts that she meant it.

_"Me and my big mouth!"_ thought Beetle. _"Had to blurt that out loud, didn't you? Couldn't have just thought of the name?"_

"ONE!" said Power Girl grimly.

_"There's no way around this!"_ thought Beetle. Two superheroes revealing their secret identities to each other was like the superheroic version of **"I'll show you mine if you show me yours"**. And Power Girl had inadvertantly shown Beetle "hers".

"TWO!"

"I'M TED KORD!" blurted out Beetle quickly.

"I told you not to jerk me around!" warned Power Girl, as her brows knit over her blue eyes. Eyes that were flashing with anger.

"I'm not jerking you around!" stated Beetle. "I am Ted Kord!"

"BULL!" said an angry Power Girl. "If you were Ted Kord, you'd be inventing something to revolutionize technology. Not dropping water balloons on people and breying like a jackass about it!"

"That was Booster! That wasn't me!" said Beetle quickly. He was lying. It was him that dropped the water balloon, but, he was aiming at Elongated Man!

Beetle waited as Power Girl eyed him suspectiously. She was think of something. "Take it off!" she ordered.

"Beg pardon?" said Beetle nervously as he raised his eyebrows.

"YOUR MASK!" said Power Girl testily. "Take it off!"

Beetle had nothing to lose. He already told Power Girl who he was. Now, he had to show her. He reached up over Power Girl's grip on his throat and, using the electronics in the fingertip of his glove, unlatched the clasp of his mask. He pulled the mask and goggles clear of his head.

Power Girl released her grip on Beetle's throat. Her face drained of all color and her eyes widened as though she had seen a ghost. She was completely shaken!

Beetle studied her. He knit his brow and thought, _"Interesting reaction"._

Ted Kord was someone Karen Starr always respected. He was genuine real-life scientific genius! **TIME Magazine** proclaimed him a "technological boy wonder" as a teenager when he created a solar power cell that twice as efficient as anything on the market! He took computers farther faster than anyone in this generation. Lexcorp and IBM were still playing catch up to thing Kord created years ago! Not only computers, but, technology in general: satellites, cell phones, environment-friendly research.

And, despite all that, Karen always got the feeling from interviews that he was a down-to-Earth kind of person. He was rich, but, didn't flaunt it like Lex Luthor, Donald Trump, or Bruce Wayne. He was smart, but, would take the time out to explain something in layman's terms. Ted Kord was like an "everyman" who happened to have an incredible intellect.

AND NOW...

It was like learning that Albert Einstein was secretly Bozo the Clown!

Power Girl had just had her faith shaken. "How could someone as brilliant as Ted Kord end up like...like _**THIS**_?" asked Power Girl quietly as she motioned to Beetle.

"What the Hell does _THAT_ mean?" asked Beetle indignantly, not liking the turn of this conversation.

"Did you suffer some kind of head trauma?" asked Power Girl sadly.

"WHAT?" asked Beetle, who was starting to get mad now.

"How does someone go from being a genius to a... well... A JACKASS!"

Beetle was seeing red now! He was so mad, he was having a hard time making a coherant sentence. "Who the f- ?... What are you-?... How-?" Finally, Beetle gave up and just yelled. He threw the relay he was holding accross the room, to shatter against the wall.

"I don't know what kind of little fantasy you had about me," yelled Beetle. "But, I've got news for you, lady! THIS is who I am! THIS is how I've always been! THIS is who Ted Kord is. NOT whatever daydream you might have had about me!"

Power Girl was taken aback by Beetle's flash of anger. She always thought of Beetle as a laid-back jokester. The light-hearted guy that would make a bet on who could lose the most weight in a week. She'd never seen Beetle mad before. Hell, she never even heard of him really losing his temper. She was having to reassess a lot of what she thought in the last minute!

"You know what?" Beetle shouted at her. "To Hell with this!" He motioned around to the unassembled security board and stalked away down the hall that led to the teleporter room.

"And to Hell with you!" he shouted back over his shoulder at Power Girl.

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Sunday mornings usually started late at the Justice League Embassy in New York. If not on a mission, Saturday nights were long and late for Guy Gardner, Booster Gold, and Fire. Guy would find the sleeziest of bars and feel at home. Both Booster and Fire liked to go to the clubs and party (although not with each other). Occasionally, they'd drag their respective best friends, Blue Beetle and Ice, along with them, whether they wanted to go or not.

Luckily for Beetle, last night was one of those nights that Booster hadn't dragged him to a club.

Unluckily for Ice, last night was one of those nights that Fire HAD dragged her to the clubs.

Ice really didn't like going to the clubs. They were too loud, too dark, and too crowded with people. Ice didn't mind crowds. But, she did mind being packed in like a sardine. But, she'd go because Fire would ask. "You're too much of a shut-in." Fire would tell her. "You're young! You need to experience new things!" Fire would add. Ice found it amusing that by "new things" Fire meant "new clubs", which always seemed exactly like the previous club.

Invariably, Fire would spend far too much time there. And that meant Ice wouldn't be coming back to the embassy until very, very late. Still, Ice was an "early riser", and by 7:00 AM, was already in the embassy's kitchen making herself breakfast.

She was enjoying her orange juice when J'Onn J'Onnz phased through the wall.

"Good morning!" Ice said brightly.

J'Onn returned the greeting. He added, "If you would, when they awaken, please, inform Booster, Fire, and Guy that I would like to speak with them."

Ice knit her delicate brow in concerned. "Is there a problem?"

"A small one." said J'Onn, as he seated himself accross from Ice. "I need to inform them that are on-call today. Along with yourself."

"Are we expecting some kind of problem?" Ice was still concerned.

"No." answered J'Onn. "But, at present, the Paris embassy is experiencing technical difficulties. We might have to answer any emergencies that might arise until the difficulties are rectified."

"What about Ted?" asked Ice, noting that J'Onn had neglected to mention him.

"Beetle left almost two hours ago to assist the Paris embassy." replied J'Onn. "He should be well on his way to helping them solve their problem."

---------------------------------------------------------ooooo-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, at the Paris embassy, Beetle was well on his way to blowing a gasket! He was extremely agitated. Agitated to the point that he kicked the control console of the teleporter, and, as his toe throbbed, immediately regretted it. In his anger, he'd forgotten that without the security board, the teleporters here could only receive an incoming signal from another teleporter. In other words: HE COULDN'T TELEPORT OUT!

_The nerve of Power Girl! Who the Hell was she to judge him? And that look of disappointment when she found out he was Ted Kord... Where the Hell did that come from?_

Power Girl hesitantly walked into the teleporter room. "Beetle...?" she started.

Beetle spun around and pointed a finger at her. "Unless the next two words out of your mouth are 'I'm sorry', I don't want to hear it!" He was still livid. "Just who in the Hell do you think you are..."

Power Girl cut him off. "I'm sorry." she said.

"It's too late for that!" yelled Beetle. Then he blinked when what Power Girl had just said registered in his brain. "Wait...what?..."

"I'm sorry." Power Girl repeated, genuinely looking remorseful. "You're right. I had some pre-conceived notions of what Ted Kord is and what you are, and, when the two didn't mesh, I acted like...well...I acted like an idiot!"

Beetle's tirade had made Power Girl think. She based all her knowledge of Ted Kord from interviews and one short meeting. She had based all her knowledge of Blue Beetle on hearsay and a few short meetings. She thought one was the most brilliant man on the planet and the other was an immature practical joker. Opposite ends of the spectrum. Completely different from the other. Obviously, she realized, she knew neither man.

Power Girl's admission took all the righteous air out of Beetle's anger sails. Like a punctured ballooon, Beetle deflated. He sank down and sat on the floor. He shook his head and muttered something to the effect that "it was way too early in the morning to expel this kind of energy in being p.o.ed!".

Power Girl just stood there, shifting from foot to foot, waiting for Beetle to say something. She felt awkward and foolish, but, couldn't think of what else to do.

Beetle wasn't one to stay mad at someone for any great length of time. It wasn't in his nature. Sure, he tried to stay mad at Captain Atom when he found out that Cap lied about teaming up with Beetle's predecessor, Dan Garrett. But, even then, Beetle forgave him. And Power Girl had apologized for her actions.

He looked up at Power Girl, who was shifting uncomfortablly from foot to foot, and said, "Okay."

"Okay?" asked Power Girl, making sure Beetle accepted her apology.

Beetle smiled a bit. "Okay." He extended his hand. "Help me up."

Power Girl took his hand and easily helped him to his feet. Power Girl couldn't help but think that if the situation were reversed, she'd still be thundering and fuming. Beetle could let his anger go, while she would hold onto it and intimidate and threaten... A thought occured to her.

"If I didn't have my hands around your throat, would you have told me?" she asked cautiously.

Beetle smiled at her. "Probably. But, only after I had found out just how BIG a crush you had on me!"

"WHAT? I do not have a crush on you!" said a surprised Power Girl as she blushed slightly.

"Oh, right!" said Beetle as he broke into an even bigger smile. "'Absolutely brilliant man!'; 'funny and charming'; 'kinda cute'!"

"You're taking what I said out of context!" stated Power Girl, trying to defend herself.

"I think not!" said Beetle disapprovingly. "You were practically swooning when you described me!"

"Like I said, I must have been misinformed!" said an irked Power Girl.

"No." Beetle corrected her. "What you said was that you had a pre-conceived notion of me! A pre-conceived notion of me being a beacon of light in a world of dimness. Just an extraordinarally beneificent being radiating knowledge on all!" Beetle stuck out his tongue as he smiled at her, which oddly reminded Power Girl of that famous picture of Albert Einstein.

"And now I see how wrong pre-conceived notions are!" said Power Girl testily.

"AH!" Beetle said as he pointed at her and smiled. "See? I 'radiated' knowledge all over you!"

Power Girl almost choked on his choice of words. But, she smiled and shook her head. "Yeah." she said. "You 'radiate' something all over people, but, I'm not sure it's knowledge!"

TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Chapter 2

**_Untold Tales of the JLI: Easy Like Sunday Morning Chapter Two_**

Power Girl and Blue Beetle had returned to the monitoring room to work on the main security board. Power Girl was still amazed at how quickly Beetle had gotten over his anger. He was working on the machine as though nothing had happened.

"So," said Power Girl, trying to start a conversation. "What happened to 'Red'?"

Beetle sighed. "It didn't work out. She thought I was keeping secrets from her."

"Were you?" asked Power Girl as she looked up at Beetle.

Beetle stopped what he was doing and turned to her. He put his hands out and slowly turned around much as a model would. His point was pretty clear as he modelled his uniform. "What do you think?" he asked with a sour smile.

"Ever think of just telling her?" Power Girl continued.

Beetle shrugged. "Yeah. The secret put a real big strain on our relationship. But, I DID tell the girlfriend previous to Mel, and that was just as bad. THAT put a strain on our relationship because she was always worried when I went out in costume. Kinda like a cop's wife."

"Damned if you do. Damned if you don't." said Power Girl sympathetically.

"What can you do?" said Beetle as he went to work on a circuit board.

Power Girl thought for a second. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Well," said Beetle, not looking up from the circuit board. "You seem to be able to vocalize just fine, and I'm sure you have the mental capacity to form a question. So... yes, you CAN ask a question." He smirked.

Power Girl stuck her tongue in her cheek and lifted an eyebrow. "**MAY** I ask you a question?" she corrected herself.

Beetle smiled. "Better. And no. You've been asking me a lot of questions. I hate one-way conversations. So, let me ask a question."

"Okay." said Power Girl wearily. "Go ahead."

Beetle considered his options. "Okay. Why the diet?" he asked.

Power Girl stopped what she was doing and looked at Beetle. "What?"

"You heard me." said Beetle. "Why the diet? You don't look like you need to lose any weight."

"There are a few pounds I'd like to lose." said Power Girl, almost defensively.

"Why?" asked Beetle again. "Me I can see. I let myself go for awhile. But, you? Women diet so that they can look like you! And you already look like you!"

"What? Are you saying I'm perfect?" asked Power Girl with a raised eyebrow.

"No. No." said Beetle with a smile. "Far from it. I'm just saying you already have an absolutely fantastic body! The question is: Are YOU going for the 'perfect' body?"

Power Girl considered what Beetle said, despite the "far from it" and "fantastic body" comments.

"And, if so," continued Beetle. "How do you define 'perfect'?"

Power Girl waved off Beetle's question. "I diet just because..." She hesitated as she searched for an answer. "Because I want to!" Even to her this explanation sounded weak.

"Just something to do?" offered Beetle.

"Yeah." answered Power Girl, who realized that really didn't make too much sense.

"Just something NORMAL to do?" asked Beetle as he cocked his head.

"What exactly are you trying to get at?" asked Power Girl, who was becoming slightly agitated with the line of questioning.

"I think," stated Beetle. "That you diet because it is a NORMAL thing to do. Mundane. Most women on Earth diet at one time or another. And I think you're looking for a little NORMALITY in your life."

Power Girl tilted her head and looked at Beetle through narrowed eyes.

"Maybe." she conceded begrudgingly.

"Hey!" said Beetle. "There's no reason to sweat it. There's nothing wrong with a little 'normal' in your life."

Power Girl gave Beetle a half-smile. "Like YOU would know! Running around in an insect costume. Flying around in a giant mechanical bug. Yeah! You're the poster boy for 'normal'!"

Beetle put on a look of faux-indignation. "I never...ever...said I was normal. Truth be told, I'm **EXTRA-ordinary**!" Then, Beetle said in his best Jack Nicholson voice, "But, you can't HANDLE the truth!"

"Oh." said Power Girl with a smile. "I can handle the truth. The question is: can you tell the truth?"

"Are you questioning my veracity?" asked Beetle, slightly amused.

"Should I?" responded Power Girl, equally amused.

"I'll have you know," stated Beetle innocently. "I only lie when it's absolutely... and totally... _**convienant**_ for me to do so."

"That's what I thought." said Power Girl, almost sadly. "You don't have the... SPALDINGS to tell the truth!"

Beetle turned around to look at Power Girl. "Oh ho ho." he said with a smile. "Very low on your part to question my manhood. I get the feeling you want something. Just what do you have brewing in that wicked mind of yours?"

"I ask a question," started Power Girl. "And you tell the truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth."

"And then I get to ask you a question?" asked Beetle, trying to get a better grasp on what Power Girl wanted.

Power Girl nodded.

"And you have to tell the truth? The whole truth? Nothing but the truth?" asked Beetle, as he started to enjoy this.

"Quid pro quo!" stated Power Girl.

"Like 'Truth or Dare' without the dare!" said Beetle as he smiled at her. After a second he added, "Don't you know how dangerous it is to play that game with guys?"

"I'm not the one trying to back out of this." said Power Girl in a saccarine sweet voice. "Are you scared?"

Beetle smiled broadly, as he started warming to the idea. "Oh. I'm practically shaking in my bright blue booties!"

"Well?" challenged Power Girl.

"I get the feeling we're playing a little 'cat-and-mouse' game here! But, are you really so sure you're not the little squeeker?" asked a bemused Beetle.

"Only one way to find out. Isn't there?"

"You're on!"

Power Girl and Blue Beetle faced off for an monumental encounter of epic proportions. A battle with the most dangerous weapon in the universe - the pure unadulterated truth!

"Ladies first!" said Beetle with slightly exaggerated bow.

Power Girl considered her strategy. _"Should I work him slowly, and then lower the boom? Or go full out at the start?" she thought to herself. "What's the one thing he wouldn't want to tell me?"_ Power Girl decided to start off slowly in order to lull Beetle into a false sense of security. The game was on!

"Who dropped the water balloon on me last month?" Power Girl asked with just the slightest hint of menace in her voice.

Beetle winced. After a second of soul-search and determining whether Power Girl would kill him or not, Beetle said, "I dropped the water balloon on you... ACCIDENTALLY! I was aiming for Ralph!"

"But, you didn't hit Ralph. Did you?" asked Power Girl ominously.

"That's a second question, PeeGee." said Beetle. "I thought it was one question at a time."

"Nevermind answering it." said Power Girl. "I'll answer it for you. No, you did not hit Ralph. You hit me! Right in the chest!"

"Right there!" said Beetle quickly. "That proves it was an accident. My aim with a water balloon from three stories up is NOT that good. And why would I get your shirt wet when I was too far away to get any benefit out of it?"

"Because you didn't plan far enough ahead." answered Power Girl. "And that was your first question."

"No fair!" exclaimed Beetle. "I was defending myself. That was a rhetorical question."

"A rhetorical question is still a question." said Power Girl resolutely. "Those are the rules. Learn to love them and respect them."

Beetle stood there steaming for a moment. He wasn't sure if he was madder at himself, for asking that rhetorical question, or Power Girl, for not letting it slide. In the end, he decided he was madder at himself, ONLY because he wouldn't have let Power Girl slide if the situation were reversed.

"Okay." Beetle said in a sullen voice. "But, I've got to say that I'm deeply disappointed in your sportsmanship."

"Tough noogies!" responded Power Girl. "Now, let me see..." She thought for a second. "Okay, Beetle. What's your biggest regret?"

Beetle let the air out between his lips as they flapped. That was a tough one! Beetle thought about that one for a minute. "Asking Dan Garrett to help me." Beetle finally said.

"You have to explain." said Power Girl, wanting more of an answer. "You have to answer with the WHOLE truth."

"Dan was the first Blue Beetle." he said as he looked down. "I made a horrible mistake and trusted my uncle. I helped him solve a problem with a robot he was trying to create. I didn't know my uncle was trying create a robotic army because he was hell-bent on world domination. When I found out, I went to Dan for help. Dan was my archeology professor in college and a friend. I didn't know he was the Blue Beetle at the time. We confronted my uncle and a battle ensued. Dan died in that battle, but, not before he destroyed my uncle's army. Before he died, Dan made me promise to carry on the mantle of Blue Beetle."

Power Girl didn't expect to hear this story from Beetle. She suspected that he didn't tell a lot of people how he came to be Blue Beetle. She didn't know what to say, so, she said what everyone says. "I'm sorry, Beetle."

Beetle have the slightest of shrugs. "Y'know, you can call me Ted." he said.

"Okay...Ted." Power Girl responded, trying the new name out. "You can call me Kara."

"I thought it was Karen." said Beetle.

"It is." replied Power Girl. "But, my friends call me Kara."

"Alright, Kara." said Beetle with a slight smile. "My turn! Did you- **or do you still**- have a crush on Ted Kord?"

Power Girl almost audible groaned as she rolled her eyes at that question. Beetle wasn't going to let that go, and he had gone for the bombshell right away. Power Girl hesitated for a few seconds.

"Don't tell me you're giving up on the first question!" said Beetle, a little disappointed. "Wait 'til I tell the other you can't hang with the 'big boys'."

"I'm gonna answer!" snapped Power Girl quickly. "And in no way, shape, or form are you one of the 'big boys'!"

"I'm waiting." said Beetle with an amused expression.

"Okay!" said Power Girl finally as she stared at the ceiling. "I admit it. I _might_ have had the _smallest_ of crushes on you at one time."

"Geez! Put all kinds of modifiers in your answer next time!" said Beetle, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "I thought this was suppose to be the _WHOLE_ truth and _NOTHING BUT_ the truth!"

"Alright. Alright." said Power Girl. "I had a crush on you. Happy now?"

Beetle smiled broadly. "Surprisingly, YES. I am happy. Every guy needs to have his ego stroked every now and then. And to have said ego stroked by a beautiful woman..." Beetle let the thought trail off. "AND 'happy now?' was a question. So, it's my turn again."

Power Girl winced. She had to be more careful next time. She couldn't say anything because she'd already called Beetle on his rhetorical question. "Okay. But, I've got to say that I'm deeply disappointed in your sportsmanship." Power Girl parroted Beetle's earlier comment.

"Hmmmm." said Beetle. "I get the feeling you are neither loving nor respecting the rules here, Kara."

"Just ask your question!" said Power Girl hotly.

"Sooo many questions." said Beetle as he tried to decide which to ask. "But, I guess I'll go for the follow-up question. Why Ted Kord?"

Power Girl really had to think about that one. "I really don't know." she said honestly. "You were appearing on a lot talk shows. You had a lot of interviews out. I thought you were... interesting. You came off as young and exciting. Funny and smart." Power Girl thought for a second and shrugged. "Plus, I thought you were cute!"

Beetle's smile widened. "Gotto love that ego stroke!" he said.

"You know, I'm going to put my next question aside for this one. What is it with this 'ego stroke' thing?" asked Power Girl.

"It's why guys go to strip clubs." said Beetle. "Sure, there are naked women there- and that's a BIG attraction. But, I think most guys go to have attractive women pay attention to them. I KNOW they're getting paid to be nice. I KNOW they're being nice to get tips. But, there's just something that feels so... so... GOOD about having an attractive woman appear so interested in you." Beetle added quickly, "Especially attractive naked women!"

Power Girl shook her head. "Do you know how _pathetic_ that sounds?"

Beetle shrugged. "I know. But, you said you wanted the truth. AND that was a question, so, I get two this turn!"

Power Girl groaned. She didn't mean to ask that question, but, she couldn't help herself. "Okay." she said. "You get two questions."

"I'll take it easy on you this turn." promised Beetle. "Question number one: which of my interviews did you like the best?"

That seemed like a pretty innocuos question to Power Girl. She thought about it for a second. "I really liked that interview you gave in **Playboy**." she answered.

At the word '**Playboy**', Beetle's eyebrows shot up and he looked at Power Girl. Power Girl caught this.

"I only bought it for your interview!" she said shaking her head at Beetle's crystal-clear dirty thoughts.

"I usually say that I buy it for the articles when someone catches me buying it." said Beetle with a smile. "Which leads to the follow-up question: what did you think of my centerfold?"

"Ha. Ha." she said. "You know you weren't the centerfold!" She knew what Beetle was getting at, but, decided to throw him a bone.

"Okay." said Beetle with relish. "You bought a Playboy AND you LOOKED at the centerfold! Otherwise, you wouldn't have known it wasn't me in the centerfold!" Beetle smiled mischievously.

"OR it could be because Playboy doesn't put guys in their centerfolds!" said an amused Power Girl.

"Really?" said a faux-shocked Beetle. "Then, what did Hef do with those pictures I posed for on the bearskin rug? I feel so..._**DIRTY**_ now!"

Power Girl couldn't help but laugh at that. Power Girl could actually picture Beetle lying on the rug, chin resting in hands, blowing a kiss to the camera. The picture in her mind's eye was so vivid and absurd that Power Girl started laughing harder and harder. Tears started streaming down her face.

Beetle stood back and watched Power Girl descend into a fit of laughter. He thought his little joke was mildly amusing, but, not side-splittingly funny. "What's so funny?" he asked.

Power Girl tried catching her breath. "Y...you on a b...bearskin rug...NAKED!" And she had another fit of laughter.

Beetle raised an eyebrow. "Man, talk about a _reverse_ ego-stroke..."

As Blue Beetle stood there watching Power Girl laugh- _AT HIS EXPENSE_!- he realized that he'd never seen her laugh before. Sure, he'd seen her smirk, smile condescendingly, and flash her pearly whites once in a while. But, he'd never seen her laugh outloud.

"You should do that more often." Beetle said quietly.

"W-w-what?" said Power Girl as she was wiping tears out of her eyes.

"Laugh." said Beetle simply. "I get the feeling you don't do it often enough. And it really does become you."

Power Girl had to admit it was true. She really didn't laugh too much. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had laughed this hard. It felt good! But, she had an image to maintain, and being seen laughing uncontrollably didn't fit that image. As she quickly composed herself, Power Girl realized Beetle was still looking at her.

"What?" she asked.

Beetle had his head to his side, just staring. It was like he had been trying to figure something out.

Power Girl didn't like that. What she liked even less was the look of almost sadness on Beetle's face.

"Nothing." said Beetle quickly.

"No. Not 'nothing'." said Power Girl. "What?"

Beetle smiled. "You really are uptight. Aren't you?" he asked.

"What do you mean 'uptight'?" asked an offended Power Girl.

"Uptight." replied Beetle. "Afraid of letting people see you as anything but tough and serious."

"That's not true!" stated Power Girl.

"Isn't it?" asked Beetle. "When I commented that you should laugh more, you put that wall of yours back up. God forbid anyone should see you laugh! Enjoying yourself? SHOCKING!" Beetle put his hands on the sides of his face to emphasize the point.

"I laugh plenty!" said Power Girl emphatically.

"Really?" asked Beetle. "When was the last time you had a good laugh? And NOT in private. In front of someone else."

Power Girl was starting to get agitated. "None of your damned business!"

"I bet it hasn't happened in a long, long time." said Beetle. "That would ruin your rough and tumble image. It would let people know you're human!"

"Maybe it's because I'm NOT human!" shouted Power Girl. She was shocked to find her eyes beginning to tearing up. But, she was damned if she was going to let Beetle see that! She stormed out of the room.

Despite Power Girl's best efforts, Beetle had seen the tears welling up in her eyes. There's nothing like a woman crying to make a man feel like utter crap, especially when said man knows he's responsible for the tears. And that's how Beetle felt- like crap!

_"Nice going, stupid!"_ thought Beetle. _"You had to keep goading her. Didn't you? Couldn't leave well enough alone?"_ Beetle mentally called himself a few choice names and then went after Power Girl.

Beetle found Power Girl sitting on the steps of the staircase in the foyer. She wasn't crying. She wasn't moving. She was just staring down at her feet.

Beetle didn't know what to say, so, he started with, "Kara, I'm sorry."

"No." said Power Girl, never looking up. "You're right. I do build walls between myself and others. I don't let people get too close. But, not because I'm afraid to show them I'm human. It's because..." Her voice trailed off. "It's because I'm afraid I don't measure up."

Beetle sat down next to her on the step. "Measure up to who?" asked Beetle.

Power Girl shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I don't know." she answered honestly. "Superman. J'Onn. I don't know." She glanced over at Beetle. "You know, I thought I was Kryptonian. I had all of Superman's powers. He accepted me as his cousin. Only I wasn't Superman's cousin. Or Kryptonian, for that matter. Then, I find out I'm Atlantean. Now..." Power Girl put her head back down. "Now, I don't know what to think!"

"You only ever have to measure up to yourself." said Beetle gently.

Power Girl blinked and looked at Beetle again. "That would sound almost profound," started Power Girl. "Until you realize that's just **b.s.**"

Beetle's eyebrows went up. "That's not b.s..." Beetle started, but, Power Girl cut him off.

"When people thought I was Superman's cousin, people treated me differently." explained Power Girl. "When they found out I wasn't, it was like I let them down. Like I let _HIM_ down! Disappointed them. I disappointed them by NOT being something they thought I was." She shook her head. "You wouldn't understand!"

Beetle considered what Power Girl had just told him. "I think I do." he said. "When I first started, people wanted to compare me to Dan. But, I didn't have his powers. And I felt a lot of people were disappointed in the 'new Blue Beetle'. I couldn't 'measure up' to him."

"You were just human." said Power Girl quietly.

"Yep." said Beetle, a slight smile crossing his lips. "Just human."

"But," Power Girl started. "At least you know what you are. I don't even know that! I'm not Kryptonian. I'm not sure I'm human! Sure, I'm Atlantean, but, imbued with powers! I only need an hour of sleep a day. I don't feel heat and cold...I'm not sure I can feel anything! I'm suppose to be human, but, I don't even know if I am!"

Beetle considered what she had said as Power Girl looked back down. Beetle took his right glove off.

_"Either this'll work,"_ thought Beetle. _"Or I'm going to a Parisean hospital!"_ As Beetle licked his finger, he thought, _"Man, I hope the food in the hospital is good!"_ With that, he stuck his saliva-covered finger in Power Girl's ear.

Power Girl let out a yelp and clapped her hand over her ear, narrowly avoiding taking Beetle's finger off in the process. She had a shocked look on her face as she looked at Beetle. "What the HELL do you think you're doing?" she practically screamed at him.

"Oh." said Beetle non-chalantly. "I thought you couldn't feel anything."

Disbelief was in Power Girl's eyes. "A WET WILLIE!" she said. "I'm here pouring out my soul to you, and you give me a WET WILLIE!"

"No." said Beetle slowly. "You were sitting here feeling sorry for yourself, and I gave you a wet willie."

Beetle never saw her hand move, it was that quick. She slammed him up against the staircase wall and kept her hand on his chest. "I. WAS. NOT. FEELING. SORRY. FOR. MYSELF." she uttered each word clearly as her eyes flashed with anger.

Power Girl had put some considerable pressure on his chest, but, Beetle managed to say, "Yes. You were."

Power Girl pulled her hand away from Beetle's chest. "What the Hell do you know anyway?"

Beetle rasped in a breath of air. "I know enough to recognize someone feeling sorry for themself." he said. "I have enough first-hand experience to know that."

Beetle took another breath. Thankfully, the second one went down easier than the first. "You were sitting here talking about not being able to feel heat and cold. Yeah well, you CAN feel them. You just have a higher resistance to them. And you could damned well feel a wet finger in your ear!"

Power Girl shot Beetle a dirty look, but, she kept listening.

"As for 'measuring up' to others," said Beetle. "No one I know refers to you as a 'second-rate Superman'. They think of you as a premier hero- **A FIRST-STRINGER**- in your own right!" Beetle rubbed his sore sternum and winced. "A premier hero with a wicked temper!"

The more she thought about what Beetle said, the more her anger faded. But, the more her anger faded, the worse she felt about slamming Beetle up against the wall.

"You like to live dangerously, don't you?" Power Girl asked Beetle.

"Oh, yeah." said Beetle sarcastically, still rubbing his sternum. "I live for having beautiful blondes slam me into walls!"

"Are you okay?" she asked, the concern genuine.

"Nothin a week in the hospital won't fix!" answered Beetle with a slight smile.

"Did you really have to stick your finger in my ear?" asked Power Girl with raised brow.

"It seemed like a good way to make a point and shake you out of your doldrum. Plus, it was either my finger or my tongue." replied Beetle, as he looked up at her with a smirk. "I went with the less fun choice."

Power Girl just stared at Beetle for a second, as if trying to make up her mind about something. "You know," she said. "You're alright... in your own messed-up way!"

"Stop." said Beetle with a grin. "All your praise will turn my head."

"With all our personal crisises- _**crises**_?-" Power Girl shrugged her shoulders. "We're never gonna get that damned security board finished."

"Oh." said Beetle, a little sheepishly. "I can get that done in half an hour."

Power Girl froze as what Beetle just said registered. "What? I thought-"

Beetle shrugged. "I just wanted the company. I figured you were stuck here until I got it fixed anyway, so..."

"You mean you could've had it fixed awhile ago?" asked Power Girl, not believing what she was hearing.

"By myself, I would've been done an hour ago." said Beetle with a shrug. "With your 'help', it was taking a little longer."

Power Girl leaned back and rested her head on a step. She closed her eyes and smiled. "You really do like living dangerously!" she said as she shook her head.

Power Girl and Blue Beetle went back to the monitoring room. Power Girl let Beetle work on the security board by himself, but, she stayed "to keep him company". She was quite honestly amazed at how fast Beetle worked. Then again, she figured he BUILT the system, so, it wasn't really surprising he could REBUILD it.

"I think you found your calling." said Beetle with a grin as he looked up from what he was doing. "Supervisor!"

"I'm just making sure you don't screw up." said Power Girl with a smile. "Or that you don't waste time again!"

"Isn't that the definition of a supervisor?" asked Beetle.

"Uh-uh." said Power Girl. "I believe when we left off, it was MY TURN to ask a question."

"If you must." replied Beetle as he placed a circuit board in the security board.

Power Girl thought for a second. As she smiled, she asked, "What's the one thing no one knows about?"

Beetle looked up. "If I answer that question, then someone would know."

"Does that mean you forfeit? Wait until I tell everyone you can't hang with the 'big boys'!" said Power Girl with a smirk.

"If you're one of the 'big boys'," said Beetle with a smirk of his own. "Then you've really been keeping a huge secret!"

"Just answer the question, wise guy!" said Power Girl.

Beetle stopped working on the security board for a second. "If you tell anybody- and I mean ANYBODY- about this, I'll deny it 'til my dying breath!"

Power Girl was intrigued. "Well, don't keep me in suspense. 'Fess up!"

Beetle closed his eyes and answered. "Deep at heart," Beetle tapped his chest. "I'm a romantic. I'm a sucker for a good love story. 'Casablanca'. 'The Princess Bride'..."

That answer totally caught Power Girl off-guard. She could not picture Beetle- or Ted Kord, for that matter- sitting and watching a love story. "Nooo." she said with a smile.

Beetle just grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"Do you cry?" asked Power Girl with a smirk. She couldn't resist the dig and was trying to get a reaction out of Beetle.

"NO!" exclaimed Beetle. Then, added, "Well, hardly ever... AND that was two questions! Now, I get two questions...AGAIN!"

"Okay." said Power Girl, still grinning at Beetle's revelation.

"I guar-en-DAMN-tee that I win on one of these next two questions!" stated Beetle emphatically. "If I don't, I'll forfeit the game to you. No more 'Mister Nice-Beetle'. I hope you're ready."

"Oh. Hit me with your best shot, Mr. Love Story!" said Power Girl with a big grin.

"Alright. You admitted to having a crush on me." started Beetle with a wicked grin. He let that hang there for a second. "BUT... did you ever have a **FANTASY** about me?"

"Oh, C'MON!" said Power Girl in exasperation. Beetle's question had wiped the grin right off of her face. "You're a dirty, little, horny bast-!"

"Hey! Hey! Watch the language!" Beetle warned. "Or we'll have have to change it from PeeGee to PeeGee-13!"

"You would ask that kind of question." complained Power Girl.

"Well, of course I would." said Beetle as he smiled. "But, you don't HAVE to answer. Just admit defeat and say, 'Ted, I just can't compete with you in the field of honesty.'!"

Power Girl stewed. She couldn't decide which would hurt her pride more: answering the question or not answering the question. She was an extremely competitive person and really didn't want to lose their little game. But, just on principle, she should refuse to answer it. She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes as she tried to solve her quandry.

"Yes." Power Girl finally said through gritted teeth.

Beetle was stunned. BEYOND stunned. He didn't actually think Power Girl would answer the question just on general principle alone. And, if she did, he was expecting a "no", not a "yes". His mind was on the verge of a meltdown from the possibilities. Literally, dozens of thoughts were flying around in his brain.

**"Really?"** he asked in a shocked voice, and immediately winced at his own stupidity. THAT was not the follow-up question he wanted to ask. AND it cost him the game. "SON-OF-A-!"

"Ah-ah-ah! Watch the language!" said Power Girl, as she started to smile. "The answer is yes. Really. And you lose." Power Girl smiled smugly at Beetle.

"I don't suppose you'd care to share some details?" Beetle asked hopefully.

"You'll NEVER know the details!" stated Power Girl through a seductive smile. "Suffice it to say, you were extraordinary!"

Beetle groaned as he put the last circuit board in place and closed the access panel. He smirked at Power Girl and said, "Do you really think it's better to leave it up to MY imagination?"

"Nice try." replied Power Girl. "But, that's all it'll be. YOUR imagination!"

Beetle raised an eyebrow. "No. No. I hate to correct you, but, it is YOUR fantasy." With that zinger, Beetle flipped a switch and both the main security board and the monitoring station lit up.

"You're never going to let me live that down. Are you?" asked Power Girl.

Beetle smiled. "Never."

"And I suppose you're going to go back and have a good laugh about it with Booster." said Power Girl, a note of disapproval in her voice.

"I wasn't planning to." said Beetle with a shrug as he packed his tool case and gathered the remainder of his equipment. "Give me a little credit. I CAN keep a secret."

Beetle pointed to his mask. "Could you hand me that?" he asked.

"Sure." Power Girl said as she picked up the mask. She looked down at the Beetle's mask and wiped away some lint off of a lens with her thumb. She looked up at Ted Kord's face. She hated to admit it, but, she was starting to feel sad that Beetle had to go. Sure, he could be a huge pain-in-the-ass, he was highly unorthodox, and he obsessed on the carnal, but, dammit, he did make things interesting. He made her laugh and open up about herself. He kept her on her toes. What could have been a long day seem to fly by. It chagrinned her to admit it, but, she was going to miss him!

"Are you going to hand it to me or are you planning to keep it?" asked Beetle with a smile as he held out his hand.

Power Girl handed Beetle his mask.

"Thanks." said Beetle as he prepared to put his mask back on. Before he could, Power Girl stopped him.

"Ted," she said. "Before you go, there's something I've got to know."

It sounded harmless enough to Beetle. He shrugged and said, "Okay. What?"

Power Girl placed both her hands on either side of Beetle's face and kissed him deeply.

As Power Girl locked her lips to Blue Beetle's, Beetle froze. He expected her to ask a question, not kiss him. **NOT THAT HE WAS COMPLAINING!** _"Man!"_ he thought as Power Girl continued the kiss. _"For someone who can deflect bullets off her skin, she's got really soft lips!"_

Beetle felt himself responding in kind to Power Girl's kiss. He placed one hand on her back and the other on her hip. Apparently, Power Girl had no problem with that as she moved her hands away from Beetle's face. She draped one arm around Beetle's neck and started running her hand through Beetle's hair, up the back of his head.

Beetle's eyes almost rolled back into his head. There were certain spots on the male anatomy that responded well to a woman's touch. The back of Beetle's head was one of those spots. _"Ooohhhh! THAT'S the spot!"_ he thought.

-------------------------------------------------------------------ooooo--------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, at the New York embassy of the Justice League International, J'Onn J'Onnz had not been surprised by the reaction he received when he informed the others that they were "on-call" today. There had been a lot of complaining, kvetching, moaning, and crying. And that was just Booster. The rest were almost as bad.

The only one who didn't complain (other than Ice, who rarely ever complained because it wasn't in her nature) was Blue Beetle. And that was only because J'Onn hadn't heard anything from Beetle since he'd sent him to the Paris embassy. It had been hours since Beetle had gotten there, and J'Onn was sorely tempted to try to raise him on his communicator for a status report. But, J'Onn didn't because he figured if Beetle ran into trouble he'd contact him.

It wasn't uncommon for Beetle to forget to call in when he was working on a project. Beetle tended to have "tunnel vision" when he was working on something that interested him. The main security board in the Paris embassy certainly feel into that classification, as electronics were of his specialty.

J'Onn found it slightly amusing that Power Girl was "trapped" there with him. Power Girl was willful, ill-tempered, and volatile. Being alone with Beetle could be a considerable undertaking for even the most patient of people. For someone not known for patience (like Power Girl), it could potentially be maddening! Beetle could be thoroughly charming or completely miserable to be around depending on his mood. (J'Onn had read Beetle's psych tests. "Idiosyncratic" and "mercurial" were the terms most often used.) Power Girl's only advantage in dealing with Beetle was her appearance. She was quite attractive, and Beetle had a tendancy to try to impress attractive women. In other words "show-off". J'Onn smiled slightly as a multi-hued blue peacock analogy came to mind.

Despite what Power Girl might have thought, J'Onn didn't send Beetle there to drive her nuts. Beetle was there because he was the most qualified to repair the system (afterall, he did build it). Driving Power Girl mad was a just an unavoidable potential side-effect.

In J'Onn's estimation, in a League that tended not to take itself seriously enough, Power Girl tended to take herself TOO seriously. J'Onn felt she put on veneer around others. Never letting her true self show through. He knew others saw her as a super-powered hothead who had absolutely no sense of humor. J'Onn sensed that there was more to her than that. Although he had never read her mind, he was convinced there was a far more complex person there than what Power Girl showed. She was just afraid to show it and was quite content to be perceived as just a "hotheaded powerhouse".

Beetle, on the other hand, J'Onn knew was far more complex than people thought. J'Onn had occasion to read Beetle's mind. He wouldn't admit it to others, but, it was...fascinating. (For instance, J'Onn would never use the word "fascinating" around Beetle for fear of the inevitable Mister Spock jokes.) His mind worked incredibly quickly, but, was often sidetracked with other thoughts. And a lot of those thoughts were unorthodox, to say the least!

On the surface, Power Girl and Blue Beetle were polar opposites. BUT, under the surface, they had remarkable similarities. Both were exceptionally smart. Both had stubborn streaks. And both had insecurities about their place in the "superhero community".

J'Onn thought they could wind up fast friends if the circumstances didn't go against them. Either that or Power Girl would kill Beetle in a pique of anger.

J'Onn stopped in his tracks at that last thought. _"Maybe contacting Beetle would be a good idea afterall."_ he thought.

-----------------------------------------------------------------ooooo----------------------------------------------------------------

Oddly enough, Power Girl and Beetle both had the same expression on their faces. As they laid on the floor of the monitoring room, clothing strewn about the room, they both realized that the moment might have gotten out of hand. Fires were lit. Inhibitions were forgotten. And passions exploded. The aftermath saw them lying there, both staring at the ceiling with a look of shock on their faces.

"WOW!" they both said in unison to break the silence. And quickly looked at each other.

They started laughing, but, were interrupted by the beeping of Beetle's communicator. Beetle quickly got up and started sifting through his clothes until he found his belt. He pulled the communicator out of the pouch next to his holster. "Yes?" he said, in an almost guilty voice, into the communicator.

J'Onn's voice came through the communicator. "Are there any problems there?"

Beetle looked around the room quickly. "No." he answered slowly as gave a slight shrug.

"How are you progressing?" J'Onn asked.

Beetle looked down at Power Girl. She winked and gave him a "thumbs-up".

"Pretty well, apparently." said Beetle as he smiled.

"Do you need assistance?" asked J'Onn.

"No." said Beetle as he raised an eyebrow and a smirk came to his face. "I think I've got it cov- **YEEEOWTCH**!"

"What was that?" J'Onn asked quickly.

"Nothing. Nothing. I just got my...**_finger_** pinched." said Beetle as he rubbed his sore buttock. Power Girl bit her lip to keep from laughing. Beetle shot her a dirty look. "That's gonna leave a mark!" Beetle thought.

"Any estimates on when you'll be done?" J'Onn inquired.

Beetle thought about it for a second and looked toward Power Girl. She shrugged her shoulders. Beetle was mesmerized by the sight. Wonderful things happened when Power Girl shrugged her shoulders. Apparently, flight wasn't the only way she defied gravity.

"An estimate, Beetle?" asked J'Onn again, shaking Beetle out of his trance.

"It could take all day!" said Beetle quickly.

"Very well." said J'Onn, satisfied with the answers. "Keep me informed of your progress."

"Yes, mother." said Beetle as he switched off the communicator and tossed it on the pile of clothes.

"You do realize that if you keep him informed," said Power Girl with a grin as she looked up at Beetle. "That would be considered 'phone sex' with a Martian."

Beetle "tsk"ed her and shook his head. "Did you find out what you needed to know?" he asked.

Power Girl considered her answer for a second. "No." she stated.

With that, she grabbed Beetle by the wrist and dragged him back down to the floor beside her.

**THE END**


	3. Author's Notes

**_Untold Tales of the JLI: Easy Like Sunday Morning_**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I decided to go back to my archieves and polish up some of my stories. I did this for a number of reasons. After reading through some of these stories, many months later, I saw that I had a tendency to be very skimpy on descriptive passages. If you were an avid fan of Giffen and DeMatteis's League this wasn't a problem. However, some people came over and became fans after _Formerly Known As the Justice League_ and _I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League_. For them, the descriptive passage might help them enjoy the story more.

Another reason that I went back to this story was that I really wanted to add a little more to the dialogue in order to make it flow better.

The final reason I went back to this story was that I hope to get back into the swing off writing as it has been several months since I've written anything. I thought that going back to polish up some of my older stories might be a nice reintroduction back into writing.

Some people have asked me where I came up with the idea for a Blue Beetle/Power Girl pairing. So, I'm gonna tell ya. Here's the story: the idea first came up a few years ago on **DC Comics Messageboards**. Someone started a thread that, I believe, was called "_Superhero Hook-ups_", in which the reader was asked to hook-up two heroes. I chose my favorite character, Blue Beetle (**_NO!_** Someone with the screenname blubeetle3 is really a BLUE BEETLE FAN! Shocking! Unheard of!).

I looked at Beetle's (admittedly sparse) comic relations: Tracey from the **Charlton** comics and Melody Case in the **DC **comics, and came to some snap conclusions. Beetle's attracted to smart women (Tracey was his lab assistant. Mel a research scientist.) that he works or has worked with. Beetle's crush on Oracle (Barbara Gordon, formerly Batgirl) in the _Birds of Prey _comics only supports this conclusion.

Smart women in comics, however, are not uncommon. So, I took it to the next level - exceptionally smart women. That narrowed the list down some. Narrowed it to the point that I almost skipped right over Power Girl. Like a lot of guys, I thought of her physical endowments before her intellect. But, then I remembered that Power Girl's alter ego was the C.E.O. of a software company.

And then it all clicked together!

Beetle is hardware, Power Girl is software. They're involved in related, though not similar, fields.

No question that Beetle would be interested in Power Girl (what guy isn't?). The question was: Would Power Girl be interested in Beetle? And looking through Power Girl's romantic involvements in comics, it became clear that it was just as dismal as Beetle's! Here was one of the hottest characters in comics, yet, it seemed that she couldn't find anyone to make her happy. So, I tried to delve into the character and think of why. And the answer I came up with was that P.G. always thought men were more interested in her physical assets as opposed to her intellectual assets. She was a computer geek stuck in Jayne Mansfield's body.

So, I floated the idea that a Blue Beetle/Power Girl hookup was a match made in Heaven. A technogeek that loves smart women and a computer geek that wants to be loved for her mind! GENIUS! _PERFECTION!_

...And then I quickly forgot about after posting it!

A couple of years later, in the pages of_ I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League_, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold go to the JSA brownstone in order to recruit Power Girl into the Superbuddies. P.G. ignores Booster and gives Beetle a **BIG OL' HUG** and tells him that **SHE MISSES HIM!**

_**WTF!**_

Now, I was a huge fan of the G&D League - _none bigger!_ - BUT, I never remembered Beetle and P.G. being this chummy! I was shocked. Where did this come from? Did they... you know? And then I remembered that post to that thread from a few years early and came to the conclusion that...

**_KEITH GIFFEN STOLE MY IDEA!_** _(You're welcome, Keith!)_

...Either that or great minds think alike. One of the two. I can't decide.

So, for those asking where the idea came from... **BLAME KEITH GIFFEN!**


End file.
